In 1814, the Conover Town Lots were surveyed around streets named for Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison. During the Revolution, Newton was strategically placed along an intermountain line of supply and communication between New England, the Hudson River forts and Philadelphia.Īt the hub of a spokewise network of turnpikes and post roads, the village grew into a regional center for county banks and newspapers, mail and freight distribution, commerce, education, mechanical trades and social gatherings. Houses, taverns, shops and offices soon sprouted. Judge Hampton also surveyed a Town Plot including lots for a parsonage, academy, meeting-house, public green and burial ground. Jonathan Hampton, owner, deeded land for Sussex Courthouse at the intersection of the road from Easton to Newburgh with the road from Elizabethtown to Minisink. In the hollow occupied by Big Brook, where the path divides, one branch to Swartswood Lake and another to Culver’s Cap, a German named Henry Harelocker raised his log dwelling in 1751.įor convenience of location, Governor Josiah Hardy established the seat of Sussex County on or within a half-mile of Harelocker's plantation in Newton Township on December 12, 1761. Several paths leading from the ancient Indian towns at Minisink toward tidewater or toward the Forks of the Delaware entwined in this neighborhood. This tract came within the bounds of East Jersey when a Partition Line between the two divisions was surveyed by John Lawrence in 1743. Part of the Last Indian Purchase of the West Jersey Council of Proprietors. The site of Newton’s town square lies within a tract of 2,500 acres, situated at the head of a branch of Tohokenetcunck River, that was plotted by Deputy Surveyor Samuel Green for William Penn in October 1715 as Despite the inroads of suburban sprawl, with its deadening sameness, Newton retains its heirloom charm and pride of place. Construction of the M erriam Shoe Factory in 1873 introduced the modern factory system to Sussex County and inaugurated an Age of Enterprise, a prosperous epoch still reflected in many elegant residences and places of business. The arrival of Sussex County’s first railroad in 1854 brought rapid commercial and residential growth. The establishment of post roads and turnpikes fostered Newton’s rise as a regional service center. The name was carried here by the Hunts and Pettits, pioneer families who originally settled in Newtown, Queens County, Long Island. Actually, Newtown Township was formed in 1750 as a precinct of Morris County. Some have mistakenly claimed that the village was named for the “new town” that sprang up after the first court house was built here in 1761-65. For convenience of location, Sussex Court House stands at the hub of this spokewise network of roads, at an elevation of 648.68 feet above sea level.ĭeputy Surveyor Samuel Green divided the future site of Newton into adjacent tracts of land, varying in size between 1,250 and 5,000 acres, surveyed for William Penn, James Budd, John Bollen, and Amos Strettle, in October 1715. Another ancient pathway crosses the village between Sparta and Swartswood Lake. The New York Road (Route #206) rises from tidewater at Elizabeth and climbs through narrow gaps in the hills, passing Culver’s Gap en route to Milford, Pennsylvania, and ultimately, to the Great Lakes. It traverses the town along High and Water Streets. The old Easton Road (Route #94) pursues the slope of the ridges along the valley’s main axis. The steep escarpment of Blue Mountains, broken only at Culver’s Gap, paint the northwest horizon. A chain of Highlands, extending between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers, forms a barrier to tidewater markets along the valley’s southeastern rim. This old county town rests on the decline of the Great Slate Mountain, overlooking the Big Spring and Paulinskill meadows. Newton is centrally located in the Kittatinny valley, a broad limestone basin w here slate ridges partition the waters of the Paulinskill, Pequest Creek and Wallkill. The buttons on the right go to a page about the subject depicted. In healthiness of situation, by the report of the inhabitants, it cannot be excelled. Some of the dwellings are very neat: the place has an air of business, and there is in fact a very considerable trade carried on with the surrounding country. The town lies upon the slope of a gentle hill, of mingled slate and limestone, at whose foot a spring sends forth the first waters of the Paulinskill, the chief river of the county.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |